And each day, the office of Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D) rounded up the tickets and brought them back to Fenty's office. "There will be no leaving out of members," Gray said. "Everyone will be treated equally."

The standoff is the latest skirmish between Fenty and Gray, who have been at odds over a number of issues. Their fight, Gray has said, often boils down to respect for the council and the chairman.

When the Nationals played at RFK stadium, Gray received 28 tickets in the council's stadium box for each game. Gray got four tickets while the other 12 council members received two each.

Gray said there are 19 seats in a suite at the new stadium. With 13 council members, the division is not as easy, but could be done in a way that would not leave out the same four council members each time, he said. "How does that happen?" he said.

The tickets also were distributed hours before each game, leaving no time to give tickets to constituents, a common practice of many council members, he said.

On Tuesday, after not receiving enough tickets the day before, Gray sent a four-paragraph letter: "The Washington Nationals have told me the DCSEC [DC Sports and Entertainment Commission] received tickets to suites 63 and 61 and 25 tickets near-the-field. We look forward to receiving tickets for the entire season for one suite and 12 of the near-the-field tickets by the next home game, Wednesday, April 9th. I would appreciate the tickets being transmitted to me so they may be equally distributed to all Councilmembers."